University of Oregon student-athletes will get a boost to help them succeed academically, thanks to a $5 million gift made through Robin Jaqua's advised fund at the Oregon Community Foundation. The gift to the athletics department will create the John E. Jaqua Academic Center Operations Fund, a permanent endowment that will help offset the center's operating costs.

Robin Jaqua is dedicated, as was her late husband John, to the center's mission to provide academic services to student-athletes. The building is named after John E. Jaqua, a leader in the legal community who, along with Robin, gave generously to many areas across the UO campus.

"The Jaqua family continues to be incredibly supportive of our student-athletes and the University of Oregon," said Stephen Stolp, executive director, Services for Student-Athletes, and building administrator for the Jaqua Center. "With an endowment for the operating costs of the facility, we will send an important message to current and prospective students about the quality of the university's support for student success."

The three-story, 40,000-square-foot John E. Jaqua Academic Center, which opened in January 2010, serves the 520 student-athletes who compete on the university's 19 Division I athletics teams. The facility provides NCAA-mandated services to student-athletes, and includes 35 tutoring rooms, a computer lab and two classrooms scheduled for UO courses. It also has study rooms for general UO student use, an atrium area for university or public events and a café.

The building was a gift to the UO Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, and operates with dual use between the university and the athletics department.